Apr 3, 2026

How to Export Emails from Outlook (Every Method, 2026)

Outlook How-to Export Backup Microsoft 365 Email Pst Data Export Productivity

Exporting emails from Outlook creates a local copy of your messages that you can back up, migrate to another email client, or keep for compliance records. The right method depends on whether you need a full mailbox export or just a handful of individual messages, and which version of Outlook you’re using.

1. Export to PST in Classic Outlook for Windows

The PST (Personal Storage Table) file is Outlook’s native format for storing emails, contacts, calendar items, and tasks. Exporting to PST is the most common way to back up or migrate an entire mailbox.

Full Mailbox Export

Open classic Outlook for Windows.
Go to File > Open & Export > Import/Export.
Select Export to a file and click Next.
Choose Outlook Data File (.pst) and click Next.
Select the mailbox folder you want to export. To export everything, select the top-level mailbox name (your email address) and check Include subfolders.
Click Next.
Browse to choose a save location and file name for the .pst file.
Choose how to handle duplicates:
- Replace duplicates with items exported — overwrites existing items in the PST.
- Allow duplicate items to be created — keeps both copies.
- Do not export duplicate items — skips items already in the PST.
Click Finish.
Optionally, set a password for the PST file when prompted (or leave it blank and click OK).

Outlook processes the export in the background. A progress bar appears — large mailboxes can take several minutes.

Export a Specific Folder

Follow the same steps above, but in step 5, select only the folder you want (e.g., Inbox, Sent Items, or a custom folder). Uncheck Include subfolders if you only want that specific folder’s contents.

Export a Date Range

PST export in classic Outlook doesn’t have a built-in date filter. To export emails from a specific time period:

Before exporting, create a Search Folder: go to Folder tab > New Search Folder > Create a custom Search Folder.
Set the criteria to filter by received date (e.g., emails received between January 1 and March 31, 2026).
Export that Search Folder to PST using the steps above.

Alternatively, sort or filter the folder view by date, select the emails you want, and drag them into a new folder, then export that folder.

2. Export from Outlook on the Web (Microsoft 365 / Outlook.com)

Outlook on the web does not have a direct “export to PST” option. There are several workarounds depending on what you need.

Save Individual Emails

Go to outlook.office.com and sign in.
Open the email you want to save.
Click the three-dot menu (More actions) at the top of the message.
Select View > View message source.
The raw email source opens in a new window. Press Ctrl+A to select all, then Ctrl+C to copy.
Paste the content into a text editor and save the file with an .eml extension.

The .eml file can be opened in most email clients, including Outlook, Thunderbird, and Apple Mail.

Print to PDF

Open the email in Outlook on the web.
Click the three-dot menu > Print.
In the print dialog, select Save as PDF as the destination (or Microsoft Print to PDF on Windows).
Click Save.

This preserves the email’s visual appearance but not attachments or metadata.

Bulk Export via Content Search (Microsoft 365 Business/Enterprise)

For exporting large volumes of email from Outlook on the web, use the Microsoft Purview compliance portal’s Content Search (covered in section 4 below). This is the only supported method for bulk PST export when you don’t have access to classic Outlook.

Download from Outlook.com (Personal Accounts)

For personal Microsoft accounts (Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live):

Go to account.microsoft.com/privacy.
Click Download your data.
Select Email and attachments and click Create archive.
Microsoft prepares a downloadable archive (this can take up to several days for large mailboxes).
Return to the same page to download the archive when it’s ready.

The archive contains your emails in a format that can be imported into other email clients.

3. Export in the New Outlook Desktop App (Windows & Mac)

The new Outlook desktop app does not support PST export. Microsoft has not included Import/Export functionality in the new app as of early 2026.

Workarounds

Switch to classic Outlook: If you still have classic Outlook installed, open it and use the PST export method described in section 1. On Windows, you can toggle between the new and classic versions using the Try the new Outlook toggle in the top-right corner.
Use Outlook on the web: Follow the individual email save methods in section 2.
Use Microsoft 365 admin tools: If you have admin access, use Content Search or eDiscovery (section 4).
Save as .eml: Open an email in the new Outlook, click the three-dot menu, and select Save as to download the message as an .eml file. This works for one email at a time.

4. Export Using Microsoft 365 Admin Tools (Content Search & eDiscovery)

Organizations on Microsoft 365 Business or Enterprise plans can use the Microsoft Purview compliance portal to export mailbox contents in bulk. This is the method for admins who need to export another user’s mailbox or perform compliance-related exports.

Prerequisites

You need the eDiscovery Manager or Compliance Administrator role in Microsoft 365.
The export uses the eDiscovery Export Tool, which runs only in Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer on Windows (ClickOnce support required).

Content Search Export

Go to the Microsoft Purview compliance portal.
In the left navigation, select Content search (under Solutions).
Click New search.
Give the search a name and description.
Under Locations, click Specific locations and toggle on Exchange mailboxes. Click Choose users, groups, or teams and select the mailbox(es) you want to export.
Under Conditions, add any filters:
- Date — restrict to a date range.
- Sender/Recipient — filter by who sent or received emails.
- Keywords — search for specific content.
- Or leave conditions blank to export everything in the selected mailboxes.
Click Submit to run the search.
Once the search completes, select it from the list and click Actions > Export results.
Choose your export settings:
- Output options: All items, only items with an unrecognized format, or only indexed items.
- Export Exchange content as: One PST file per mailbox, one PST containing all messages, or individual messages.
- Enable deduplication if desired.
Click Export.
On the Exports tab, click the export you just created and click Download results.
The eDiscovery Export Tool opens. Copy the export key from the portal, paste it into the tool, choose a download location, and click Start.

The tool downloads PST files to your specified location. Large mailboxes can take hours to export.

eDiscovery (Standard) Case Export

For exports tied to legal or compliance cases:

In the Purview compliance portal, go to eDiscovery > Standard.
Create a new case or open an existing one.
Go to the Searches tab and create a new search scoped to the relevant mailboxes.
Export results using the same process as Content Search.

eDiscovery cases provide additional features like legal holds and case management that Content Search alone does not.

5. Save Individual Emails as .msg or .eml Files

Sometimes you only need to save one email or a small batch rather than exporting an entire mailbox.

Save as .msg (Classic Outlook for Windows)

The .msg format preserves the full email including formatting, attachments, and Outlook-specific metadata.

Drag and drop:

In classic Outlook, find the email in your message list.
Click and drag it to your desktop or a File Explorer folder.
Outlook saves the email as a .msg file automatically.

File > Save As:

Open the email in its own window (double-click it).
Go to File > Save As.
Choose a location and leave the format as Outlook Message Format (.msg).
Click Save.

Batch save: Select multiple emails (hold Ctrl and click, or Ctrl+A to select all in a folder), then drag the selection to a folder in File Explorer. Each email saves as a separate .msg file.

Save as .eml (New Outlook & Outlook on the Web)

The .eml format is more universally compatible — most email clients can open .eml files.

New Outlook desktop app:

Open the email you want to save.
Click the three-dot menu at the top of the message.
Select Save as.
Choose a save location and click Save. The file saves in .eml format.

Outlook on the web: Use the “View message source” method described in section 2, or use the browser’s built-in print-to-PDF feature.

Save as PDF

In any version of Outlook:

Open the email.
Go to File > Print (or press Ctrl+P).
Select Microsoft Print to PDF (Windows) or Save as PDF (Mac/web).
Click Print and choose a save location.

PDF preserves the visual layout and is readable on any device, but it is a flat file — attachments are not included, and the email cannot be re-imported into an email client.

6. Backup Strategies for Outlook Email

Exporting is one piece of the puzzle. Here’s how to build a reliable backup strategy around it.

Scheduled PST Exports (Classic Outlook)

Classic Outlook doesn’t have a built-in scheduled export, but you can set a recurring reminder to export manually. Run a PST export monthly or quarterly, storing files on an external drive or cloud storage service like OneDrive or Google Drive.

Microsoft 365 Retention Policies

If your organization uses Microsoft 365 Business or Enterprise:

Retention policies in the Purview compliance portal can preserve mailbox data for a specified period, even if users delete messages.
Litigation hold prevents any mailbox items from being permanently deleted.
In-place archive (Online Archive) provides an additional 50 GB to 1.5 TB of storage per user.

These are not traditional backups — they protect against data loss within the Microsoft 365 environment but do not create offline copies.

Third-Party Backup Tools

For automated, scheduled backups of Microsoft 365 mailboxes to independent storage:

Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 — backs up Exchange Online, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams to your own storage.
Acronis Cyber Protect — cloud-to-cloud backup with granular recovery.
Backupify (Datto) — automated daily backups of Microsoft 365 data.
Afi.ai — AI-driven backup for Microsoft 365 with instant recovery.

These tools run on a schedule, store copies independently from Microsoft, and allow granular restoration of individual emails or entire mailboxes.

The 3-2-1 Rule for Email Backup

Apply the classic backup principle:

3 copies of your data (the live mailbox + two backups).
2 different storage types (e.g., local PST on an external drive + cloud backup).
1 offsite copy (cloud storage or a physically separate location).

Quick Reference

Method	Best for	Format	Works in	Bulk export?
PST export (Import/Export wizard)	Full mailbox backup or migration	.pst	Classic Outlook for Windows	Yes
Content Search / eDiscovery	Admin-level compliance export	.pst	Microsoft Purview portal	Yes
Drag and drop to desktop	Saving a few individual emails	.msg	Classic Outlook for Windows	Small batches
Save As (.eml)	Saving individual emails portably	.eml	New Outlook, classic Outlook	One at a time
View message source + save	Saving emails from webmail	.eml	Outlook on the web	One at a time
Print to PDF	Readable snapshot of an email	.pdf	All versions	One at a time
Microsoft privacy dashboard	Personal account full export	Archive	Outlook.com / Hotmail / Live	Yes
Third-party backup tools	Automated ongoing backups	Varies	Microsoft 365 (cloud)	Yes

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More on Outlook: How to archive emails in Outlook · How to import contacts into Outlook · How to create folders in Outlook · How to create rules in Outlook · How to set up email forwarding in Outlook

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